The Agent and The Builder

What to do with all of that knowledge?

You meld it together, the knowledge, the passions of two property professionals, to provide a plethora of insights around the basics of any residential property projects.

As a means of helping others, and as a Brisbane builder and a Brisbane real estate agent, we are here to tell you about some of the stories that we have encountered in providing our services to others over the years. Some of the questions they have raised with us and our answers and solutions will hopefully fill in some gaps for you if you are about to embark on a house sale or building or renovation project.

We both have been working in the property and building industries, gathering a mass of knowledge along the way. The purpose behind our blog will be to give you some practical insights into property questions you too may have wondered about. We have both reached that interesting and exciting phase of our lives where we have worked in our chosen fields for many years and so, have built up a wealth of experience. But we are ready for the next phase of our lives, where we mix family, travel and work in a ratio that we will find even more enjoyable.

About us:

Peter is a Brisbane area builder with over 50 years of industry experience and he has been acknowledged with numerous Master Builder awards in recognition of his work. He has dealt with a wide variety of clients but in later years, his finely tuned, meticulous building processes have appealed more and more to the discerning client who valued his attention to detail, his preciseness with his estimating and his utmost reliability as their builder. These clients have regularly referred others on to him who wanted the same level of quality for their builds and renovations. His patience with his clients’ needs is exemplary and he is the epitome of the ‘gentleman builder’. Yes, it is possible to have a builder who cares about the quality of the loo he puts on your building site!

I have been a real estate agent for 25 years and all of my working career in this industry has been centered in the inner south area of Brisbane. When you live in an area and then become involved in selling that area as I did, it is easy to be incredibly passionate about it. It’s your home. You know the best routes to take to get anywhere, you know the easiest shopping centres to access. You know which streets are highly sought after and where the best views are.

With your children growing up in the area alongside you, you become very familiar with the local transport, the local schools and kindys, and of course, the parks and playing fields. You hear about the schools with the most supportive and proactive parent groups, the schools where everyone wants to be in the catchment zone so their children have the best opportunity. You see the community changing, notably the emergence of Brisbane’s cafe society that now attracts so many out on weekends. What did all of these people do 10 years ago?

The personality of these suburbs has changed dramatically because of ever evolving Council planning. More infill dwellings, more units and townhouses being approved and blocks being split. Clever mixes of commercial and residential buildings are spreading along the main thoroughfares so people need to use a car less and less. More walkways and bikeways to explore. Some of these changes have not been greeted with joy by the community but the growth of Brisbane continues to make this an incredibly livable city. And my recent travels make me feel that when I come home, it’s to a beautiful, contemporary city that is energised. A city that has embraced its broad waterway in a way which enhances our carefree Brisbane lifestyle.

So it made us think about what we could do with all of that experience we have amassed? How could we support you with your real estate and building needs? We share the same thinking about who to seek out when we need something done and we place a very high value on our personal referrals. We continue to call upon colleagues and other professionals or contractors who have provided good service to us previously, who apply the same level of professionalism and diligence in their own work. That pays dividends as you don’t need to second guess who you are dealing with or if there is a hiccup, a resolution is likely to happen quickly. And successfully.

One thing that we have both found when working with clients and even with people who are not clients but are referred to us and ring us out of the blue, is the huge range of questions they have when they are about to embark on a property sale, purchase, build or renovation. If we are honest with ourselves, we all think we know something about another field but until you really need that service, ones views or knowledge may be somewhat skewed. We don’t know what we don’t know. And sometimes, we just don’t know where to start or who to talk to. We might get well meaning advice from family and friends but more often than not, that can be less than helpful.

Peter and I felt that we would like to provide an advocacy service for you, to be a sounding board for your situation, provide professionally backed guidance so you make the best decisions for yourself. Hence, this will be our platform whereby by you can contact us to ask for advice, read about some of the experiences and seek out advice on who best to use to help you.